Oncology News and Research

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Oncology, meaning bulk, mass, or tumor, and the suffix ''-logy'', meaning "study of") is a branch of medicine that deals with tumors (cancer). A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''.

Cry acoustics may help identify infants at risk of autism

Autism is a poorly understood family of related conditions. People with autism generally lack normal social interaction skills and engage in a variety of unusual and often characteristic behaviors, such as repetitive movements. While there is no specific medical treatment for autism, some success has been shown with early behavioral intervention.

28 Nov 2012

New investigational procedure may prolong life for patients with severe COPD

November is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Awareness Month. COPD, also known as emphysema, is the third leading cause of death in the United States, only behind heart disease and cancer. Right now, the only studied interventions that prolong life for patients with severe COPD are supplemental oxygen in people with low oxygen levels and lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in appropriately selected individuals.

28 Nov 2012

Merrimack’s MM-302 Phase I results and MM-DX-929 preclinical data to be presented at SABCS

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Phase I data evaluating the novel agent MM-302 for the treatment of advanced HER2+ breast cancer and preclinical data on potential imaging and biomarker-based diagnostics will be presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), Dec. 4-8, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas.

28 Nov 2012

Study identifies gene signature associated with resistance to cancer therapies

Agendia, an innovative molecular cancer diagnostics company and leader in personalized medicine, today announced the publication in the November 21st issue of the prestigious scientific journal "Cell" of a study that identifies a gene signature that is associated with resistance to a broad range of cancer therapies in multiple cancer types.

28 Nov 2012

Neurofibromatosis-1 may increase risk of breast cancer in women

New Johns Hopkins research showing a more than four-fold increase in the incidence of breast cancer in women with neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1) adds to growing evidence that women with this rare genetic disorder may benefit from early breast cancer screening with mammograms beginning at age 40, and manual breast exams as early as adolescence.

27 Nov 2012

Study examines reasons why smoking is not treated in many cancer patients

It's a sad but familiar scene near the grounds of many medical campuses: hospital-gowned patients, some toting rolling IV poles, huddled in clumps under bus shelters or warming areas, smoking cigarettes.

27 Nov 2012

Roche’s cobas 4800 HPV Test receives CE mark

Roche today announces an expanded CE mark indication for the cobas 4800 HPV Test. The newly expanded indication for the cobas® 4800 HPV Test as a primary screen means Pap cytology is no longer required as a co- or pre-test in countries that accept a CE mark.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 27 Nov 2012

New combinations of medical imaging technologies hold promise for personalized medicine

New combinations of medical imaging technologies hold promise for improved early disease screening, cancer staging, therapeutic assessment, and other aspects of personalized medicine, according to Ge Wang, director of Virginia Tech's Center for Biomedical Imaging, in a recent paper that appeared in the refereed journal PLoS One.

27 Nov 2012

Paper illuminates importance of PKM2 in cancer development and progression

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have tracked down a cancer-promoting protein's pathway into the cell nucleus and discovered how, once there, it fires up a glucose metabolism pathway on which brain tumors thrive.

26 Nov 2012

Tivantinib holds personalized therapy promise in HCC

Tivantinib is an effective second-line therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma patients whose tumors exhibit high MET receptor tyrosine kinase expression, indicate phase II study results.

26 Nov 2012

Moderate exercise protects elderly hearts

The more exercise taken by individuals aged 65 years and older, the less likely biomarkers indicative of cardiac injury and new-onset heart failure are to increase, show US study findings.

26 Nov 2012

Similar survival rates with endovascular, open aneurysm repair

Endovascular and open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm result in similar long-term survival rates, say researchers in TheNew England Journal of Medicine.

26 Nov 2012

FDA grants Seattle Genetics orphan drug designation for ADCETRIS to treat mycosis fungoides

Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced today that ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mycosis fungoides (MF). MF is the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

26 Nov 2012

Interim GALAXY Phase 2b lung cancer study results to be presented at APLCC 2012

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. announced today that interim results of the Phase 2b portion of the GALAXY program will be presented on November 28, 2012 at 12:15 p.m. (JST) during the "Highlights of Oral Presentations" session at the Fifth Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2012) in Fukuoka City, Japan.

26 Nov 2012

Cancer-killing viruses found safe but less effective than expected

Doctors now use cancer-killing viruses to treat some patients with lethal, fast-growing brain tumors. Clinical trials show that these therapeutic viruses are safe but less effective than expected.

26 Nov 2012

Apitope announces completion of recruitment in ATX-MS-1467 Phase I trial for MS

Apitope, the European drug discovery and development company focused on treating the underlying cause of autoimmune diseases, today announced completion of recruitment into its second Phase I clinical trial of ATX-MS-1467 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

26 Nov 2012

Temsirolimus effective for mRCC patients on hemodialysis

Research findings published in the International Journal of Clinical Oncology suggest that temsirolimus effectively stabilizes disease progression in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma undergoing hemodialysis.

22 Nov 2012

Homing beacon drugs can kill cancer cells

A medical researcher with the University of Alberta and his team just published their findings about their work on developing 'homing beacon drugs' that kill only cancer cells, not healthy ones, thanks to nano-technology.

22 Nov 2012

UPR pathway helps tumor cells escape apoptosis during development of lymphoma

A pathway called the "Unfolded Protein Response," or UPR, a cell's way of responding to unfolded and misfolded proteins, helps tumor cells escape programmed cell death during the development of lymphoma.

21 Nov 2012

Rexahn's quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds receive U.S. patent

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class oncology therapeutics, today announced that it has been issued a United States patent (No. 8,314,100), titled "1-[6,7-substituted alkoxyquinoxalinyl) aminocarbonyl]-4-(hetero) arylpiperazine derivatives."

21 Nov 2012